Opal Meaning: Healing Properties, Uses and Benefits

Introduction to Opal

Everything about opals stands out as unique. Their crystal structure consists of millions of tiny spheres packed together in an amorphous form, unlike any other in nature.

Their colors and finishes are so distinctive that we've created terms like opalescent, iridescent, play-of-color, and opaline to describe them.

This exotic gemstone not only includes every color of the rainbow but can also contain up to 20% water. Opals come in transparent, translucent, or opaque forms, displaying all colors in one stone or a single vivid hue. You might see green, yellow, and orange on a white base or red, blue, and purple on a black one - the possibilities are vast.

Carved opals discovered in a Kenyan cave and mined in Ethiopia date back to 4000 BC. From east to west, and even in prehistoric Australia, ancient cultures have woven legends and myths around this fascinating gemstone.

Opal Virtues

• The Eye Stone
• Cupid's Stone
• Love, Passion, Desire
• Freedom and Independence
• Freeing Inhibitions
• Self-confidence and Realizing Potential
• Creativity and Spontaneity
• Wealth and Good Fortune

The Color of Opal: Color Therapy & Healing

“Your love has passed through me and now I feel my mind something like an opal, that is, full of strange uncertain hues and colors, of warm lights and quick shadows and of broken music.”

James Joyce captured this essence of opals a century ago, highlighting their almost mesmerizing beauty. Gaze into an opal, and you might lose yourself as colors flash and emerge in a three-dimensional display.

With such vibrant hues, opals offer the full spectrum of color therapy benefits - from the uplifting energy of yellow and orange to the calming effects of blue, and everything else.

While some opals show all colors, others have a main shade that suggests their physical and emotional effects:

• Predominantly Green - Rejuvenating and revitalizing, eases heartache
• Predominantly Yellow - Sparks inventiveness and creativity
• Predominantly Red - Enhances confidence and sexuality
• Predominantly White - Promotes calm and brings luck
• Predominantly Black - Offers protection and grounding

The Emotional and Spiritual Benefits of Opal

Opals range from rare black varieties to common white ones, all with stunning play-of-color in endless hues. Some, like fire or pink opals, show a single color, while others shift tones indoors or outdoors.

In general, opals are thought to spark creativity, inventiveness, spontaneity, and self-expression. They can help release inhibitions, unleashing your adventurous side. As a stone of passion, it's linked to love, desire, and lust.

Opals with a dominant color can influence specific emotions - check the color therapy section above or the chakra details below for more.

The Physical Benefits of Opal

In medieval Europe, opals earned the nickname 'Eye stones' for their reputed eye-healing abilities. Wearing or holding one was believed to ward off eye diseases, and an opal elixir eye-wash was said to soothe sore eyes.

Opals may help regulate insulin, detoxify and regenerate the liver, ease childbirth and PMS, and stimulate the bladder, kidneys, and lymph nodes.

They can relieve muscle tension and ease lower back or abdominal pain. Some say they improve memory and stimulate nerve endings, potentially aiding conditions like Parkinson's.

If you're dealing with anxiety or panic attacks, keeping an opal nearby might help, as it's said to speed recovery after illness or surgery.

Opal and the Chakras

Ancient Hindu traditions and modern beliefs describe seven chakras - energy centers from the spine's base to the head's top - that affect our physical and mental health.

Each chakra has a color, and matching gemstones can unblock or align them.

Since opals appear in every color - sometimes all in one stone - they're seen as versatile for chakra work.

Can Opal Unblock Chakras?

Yes, opals can assist with all chakras.

If your opal has a primary color, it ties to a specific chakra for unblocking or aligning. Here are examples:

• Black/Boulder Opals - Root Chakra - Boosts security and confidence
• Fire Opals - Sacral Chakra - Enhances sexuality and fertility
• Mostly Yellow Opals - Solar Plexus Chakra - Addresses liver, stomach, and gallbladder issues
• Mostly Green or Pink Opals - Heart Chakra - Reduces jealousy and grudges
• Mostly Blue Opals - Throat Chakra - Improves communication, throat, and thyroid health
• Mostly Violet Opals - Third Eye Chakra - Increases decisiveness and faith
• White Opals - Crown Chakra - Eases headaches and migraines

Identify a blocked chakra, then use a matching opal. Lie quietly with the stone on the chakra spot, breathe deeply, and relax as it works.

Is Opal a Birthstone?

"October is the opal month of the year. It is the month of glory, of ripeness. It is the picture-month."

Henry Ward Beecher, from the noted abolitionist family.

Yes, opal is the official birthstone for October.

Opal and the Zodiac

Opal doesn't strongly link to one zodiac sign, but as October's birthstone, it connects with Libra and Scorpio.

How to Recharge and Cleanse Opal

Opals are delicate, so handle cleansing and recharging carefully.

Avoid prolonged sun exposure, as it can cause fading, cracking, or crazing.

Skip salt water, since chemicals may damage the stone.

Cleanse in fresh spring or tap water, smudge briefly with sage or incense, and recharge under moonlight - watch for temperature shifts that could harm it.

Gently rub between your palms for a traditional Native American recharge.

Program your opal by holding it quietly and focusing on your intent.

Avoid letting others handle your opal or crystals, as it might disrupt your bond.

Remove opal jewelry at night to rest from its energy.

Where to Place Opal

Most opals carry water energy, linked to the home's north for career and life path enhancement.

Fire opals have fire energy, suited to the south for boosting passion and action.

In creative work, keep one on your desk or in your pocket to inspire ideas.

How to Use Opal

Opals offer many ways to tap into their spiritual benefits daily.

Wear as jewelry - rings, pendants, or earrings - for constant contact, dating back to 4000 BC.

Consider the main color for chakra influence: red for root, blue for throat, etc.

When jewelry isn't suitable, carry in a pocket or bag for subtle effects and easy access.

At home, display opals or place on chakras during relaxation or meditation.

Opal and Wealth

For millennia, opals symbolized wealth and status. Wearing one as jewelry can project success, drawing opportunities.

They build self-confidence for goals, foster creativity for success, and help spot and seize chances.

Can I Use Opal for Meditation and Yoga?

Opal excels in meditation, calming the body and centering the mind - perfect for clear thoughts.

Precious opals amplify emotions for inner work via strong spiritual energy.

Fire opals bring ecstatic vibrations for passionate enlightenment.

Boulder opals connect with earth and plant spirits.

Similarly, opals enhance yoga, as seen in many studios named after them.

Can I Wear or Carry Opal Every Day?

Reactions to gemstones vary. Some handle powerful ones daily; others find them intense.

Opals, with their ancient spiritual power, might need adjustment time.

Try wearing or holding for a day or two. If overwhelmed, pause until ready.

Opals chip easily, so avoid loose carrying. Store in protected jewelry or a soft pouch.

Opal Goddesses

Opal links to Cardea, Roman goddess of the hinge - symbolizing home thresholds, protecting from evil spirits.

'Hinge,' you might wonder? Yes, Romans had deities for many things, but it guards family doorways.

Opal also honors Persephone, Greek spring goddess, for new life and fertility.

Can I Help My Pet with Opal?

Gemstones like opals can affect pets' health similarly to humans. For instance, jasper calms aggressive dogs.

In theory, a boulder opal could aid an insecure cat, but given opal's cost and delicacy, other stones might suit better.

Opal Elixir

Make elixirs by placing a clean gem in fresh mineral water for hours - moonlight adds a boost. Remove the stone for infused water.

(Note: Some gems are unsafe in water.)

Drink chilled, brew as tea, add to baths, apply to body, or spray rooms.

Opal's eye connection makes its elixir ideal for soothing eye-baths after long days.

It revives emotional energy and boosts creativity.

Opal and Dreams

Historically, carved opals with symbols warded off nightmares.

Dreaming of opals, especially fire ones, signals good luck, imagination, and inspiration.

Receiving an opal in a dream suggests misunderstandings - clarify your intentions.

Which Gemstones Go Well with Opal?

Though some advise against pairing opals, I think combinations work. Garnet with opal protects; lapis lazuli brings fortune.

Compatible crystals share color, element, zodiac, chakra, or mineral group.

Thus, fire opals pair with fire agates, and opals with quartzes.

Opal and the Workplace

Creative professionals in film, fashion, design, or marketing gain from opal's innovative traits - keep one nearby for ideas.

Opal Pendulums

Pendulums uncover truths: suspend a crystal and ask yes/no questions for subconscious insights.

For clear swings, use a hefty stone like boulder opal - grounding ironstone base with communicative opal.

A pendant doubles as jewelry and pendulum.

Opal and EMF

Modern devices flood us with electromagnetic waves.

Gemstones protect, but opals aren't top choices - try malachite or amazonite.

Black tourmaline blocks waves, so black opals might too.

Final Thoughts on Opal

‘There is in them a softer fire than the ruby, there is the brilliant purple of the amethyst, and the sea green of the emerald - all shining together in incredible union.'

Pliny described opals in the first century AD.

Few gemstones inspire more myths than opals.

Greeks saw them as Zeus' joyful tears; Australian Aborigines say the Creator's rainbow landing created them; Hindus link them to a jealous goddess turning a rainbow to opal.

For ages, they brought luck, powers like invisibility, mind-reading, eye-healing, and blonding hair.

Medieval Europe sometimes deemed them unlucky, tied to plague or evil eye. A novel by Sir Walter Scott worsened this, crashing their popularity.

Queen Victoria revived them by wearing and gifting opals. Australian discoveries in the British colony sealed their return.

After vivid Queensland opals reached London in 1889, these gems - adored by Antony, Cleopatra, Napoleon, Josephine, and deities - reclaimed gemstone prestige.

Handy Guide to Opals

Frequently Asked Questions